


On the List

by SegaBarrett



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Backstory, F/M, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 20:53:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5470451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SegaBarrett/pseuds/SegaBarrett
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fish doesn't usually find herself surprised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On the List

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brodeurbunny30](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brodeurbunny30/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I don't own Gotham, and I make no money from this.

Fish Mooney didn’t believe in love. It was one of those fairy tales that mothers used to quiet down their children, to make that believe that if they did the right thing and kept their head down, they would be rewarded by a handsome prince or beautiful princess who would swoop in to take them away.

Fish’s mother had never had much time for fairy tales, however. She had looked so torn up inside, so fallen apart by the time that Fish was old enough to realize it, even as a little girl, Fish knew that love didn’t exist. Not for people like them, at least.

It wasn’t love that she felt for Harvey Bullock, then. She knew that much.

But knowing what it wasn’t didn’t help her to understand what it was. Let the philosophers debate it. She would continue to do what she had to do.

It wasn’t easy being Fish Mooney, after all. She had an image to maintain. Falcone and Maroni could strut around as if they had either just gotten out of bed (Falcone) or just come from a funeral (Maroni), but Fish was held to a higher standard. Every nail had to be perfectly manicured, every hair needed to be in place.

If she didn’t have a stress-reliever, a way to get away from it all, she would have pulled her hair out a long time ago, or slit her own throat with a sharpened fingernail. 

That’s why she has Harvey Bullock in her life and on her list.

She saw him a long time ago, coming into the club to have a drink. He had been looking around with lazy, sad eyes, the kind of eyes where the lights were dimmed and the owners had left a long time ago. 

He didn’t talk about work; when she needed something done, she asked him, and he would give her a nod to tell her that it would get done. That was half of their agreement.

The other half took place in her penthouse apartment, rolling over each other, alternating between acting like they were a pair of schoolgirls having a sleepover and like they were two ultimate fighters trying to kill one another.

They left each other with bruises, and considered them evidence of a job well done.

And she never, never let herself think that she could be in love with Harvey Bullock.

***

“I need help.”

Those were the first words that had come out of his mouth. They had known each other for a while; by known, Fish meant in the Biblical sense. But this was something different; this was the time he had moved from playmate to associate. They were in her club, after hours, with all the lights shut off save a few dim bulbs that added to the ambiance; Fish liked to think it turned her little fish tank into a glowing, tropical aquarium.

“Oh?” she had asked, looking up at him. She was lying on her side, her head propped up, feeling something heavy press against her ribs. It was this need, this need to speed things along. She had plans, but plans that required careful strategies. At night, she heard the sounds of Falcone’s pleading as he realized he had underestimated her, that she was about to avenge her mother and he hadn’t even seen it coming.

“There’s a man. He’s a bad man, but it’s… he knows people, and the people he knows keep him out of trouble.”

“Oh? I assume this is personal, Harvey. You don’t usually get upset over someone else’s misfortune.”

Harvey looked at her and bit his lip, as if deciding whether to go down this road. She had seen many a man wear this look, and almost all of them eventually made the same decision.

“It’s my sister,” Harvey told her, reaching out and taking Fish’s hand in his. “This man killed her husband. Tried to kill her.”

“And you want me to take care of it.” She let a fingernail graze her own chin, delighted in the way it made her blood rush. She had never been a person to get scared off by the potential for pain. “What would you like me to do to him? Or are you glad that he killed the husband? I can’t keep track of people’s family drama some days.”

Harvey gave her a mirthless smile.

“She was in love. I just need… I want something to be done. I can’t do it myself, not now. Too many eyes are watching.”

“Eyes. That sounds like an idea.”

Harvey winced.

“No need to go that far. I’m sure you’re good at torturing people…”

Fish winked and kicked back her feet.

“I consider it a point of pride.”

“…But I just want him gone from the Earth. Put down. It’s more of a… necessity than anything else.”

“And what do I get in return for this favor of mine? Or should I just enjoy doing my part to clean up the streets? I was never a big fan of community service, Harvey. I don’t look good in orange.”

Harvey let out a tiny laugh.

“I’d pay to see you in orange, Fish. I’m sure you’d still somehow manage to look… well, good and terrifying. You would have matching nails, too.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Harvey. And I don’t just keep you around for your good looks. Though they are…” she brushed his chin with a nail, “quite good indeed.”

“I’ll do whatever you need. I’ll get you out of trouble, Get Out of Jail Free Card.”

She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“Do I need to pass Go?”

“Well, no, but it would probably help.”

Fish nuzzled into Harvey’s chest and let out a long sigh, feeling something that was uncomfortably close to affection. 

She waved her arm and called loudly, “Butch! Get in here!”

The burly henchman appeared in the door, looking around as if unsure whether he should be looking at Fish or away. That Butch, always the gentleman. She trusted him completely.

But trust was not the same as love. Was it affection she felt for Butch, or relief that he could do tasks she didn’t have time or an immediate need for? 

Her stomach shook with butterflies as she climbed out of Harvey’s lap and brushed off her leg. 

“I need you to do something for me, and I need you to make sure that it gets done right, as well as right away. I want you on it. I’m going to give you a name, and I need you to make sure that he disappears. Wiped off the face of the Earth.”

“Sure thing,” Butch agreed. 

Fish moved her leg back to cross over Harvey’s, and she smiled. 

“Well? Butch? Time is a wastin’.” She scooped up a piece of paper and instructed Harvey to write the name. She handed him the paper and watched him walk out the door. 

She commanded an army; at least it felt that way sometimes. She had the entire world at her fingertips. 

Yet every smile came from that place of power, from every reminder that she was in control, that she was always in control.

“You did that for me,” Harvey said. It wasn’t a question or even a thank you; it was simply a factual statement.

She pawed at his neck and leaned in close. She kissed his forehead.

“Yes I did.”

Every smile had come from that place of power… but maybe not this last one.


End file.
